“So I tracked down your suppliers and paid a premium to become their exclusive distributor on this street. From now on, they won't sell to you. Even if you wanted to open another seafood buffet nearby to compete with me, you couldn't.”

“With steady foot traffic and zero competition, how could I possibly fail?”

Adela chimed in, brimming with the same smugness：

“Exactly. People around here love seafood. Now we've taken back the shop and locked up your supply chain. Everything your restaurant had, we'll have too, except our space is bigger and nicer.”

“If you could make the place a hit, why can't we?”

Credit where it was due: these two were ruthless.

Not only were they stealing my shop, they'd cut off my supply line too.

Any ordinary business owner might've been ruined for good.

Too bad for them, they'd picked the wrong guy to mess with.

They saw my seafood buffet packed to the walls every single day, but what they didn't know was that those customers had come for me specifically.

More importantly, just yesterday my dad had called to tell me his employees were sick of seafood after a solid year of all-you-can-eat buffets. They couldn't even look at shrimp without gagging. He'd asked if I could switch up the menu.

Since Brendan and Adela were so confident they could make their seafood buffet work, I saw no reason to burst that bubble.

“Fine. The shop's all yours. I'm done here.”

“Best of luck with the business.”

My easy agreement caught them off guard. Brendan and Adela exchanged a glance, suspicion flickering in both their eyes.

Brendan's brows pinched together, like he was afraid I was pulling something：

“You're really just going to pack up and leave?”

I didn't answer. Instead, right in front of them, I called a moving company：“Hi, I need to move out of a commercial space today. Could you send a truck over as soon as possible?”

Once I'd worked out the details, I texted them the address, hung up, and turned back to Brendan and Adela：

“Satisfied?”

Brendan's brows relaxed. He let out a cold snort：

“Smart move.”

“Now hurry it up. Don't waste our time when we've got money to make.”

With that, he and Adela strutted out, victory plastered across their faces.

The moment they were gone, every employee in the restaurant crowded around me, voices overlapping in outrage：

“Boss, our lease isn't even up yet! Those two just kicked us out. That's straight-up bullying.”

“Right? Nobody wanted this dump before you came along. You built this place from nothing, and now they swoop in to take it? How is that fair?”

Rainey Abbott, the cashier, was the most fired up of all：

“Boss, let's sue them! I've got a friend who's a killer attorney. Let him make them pay!”

I waved her off：“No need.”

After all, I wanted a front-row seat to watch them try to run a seafood buffet.

If I sued them, I'd miss the show.

Rainey pressed on：“Then what's the plan, boss? Are we really just going to take this lying down and let them walk all over us?”

I smiled：“Of course not.”

I walked to the front entrance and pointed at the vacant three-story building across the street：

“See that building?”

Everyone followed my gaze：

“That old shopping center? The one that shut down? It's been sitting empty for years.”

I stared at it, a quiet edge creeping into my voice：

“Starting tomorrow, it won't be empty anymore.”

Every head in the room snapped toward me, eyes wide with shock.

Rainey's eyes went wide：

“Boss, you……you're not seriously thinking about leasing that building, are you?”

I nodded：“That's exactly what I'm thinking.”

A collective gasp rippled through the group：

“Boss, that place is several times bigger than our current shop. The rent alone has to be insane. Please don't do anything rash.”

“Yeah, those two already locked down every seafood supplier in the area. Even if you open a bigger place, what's the point if you can't get product?”

“And the old customers are gonna stick with the original location and the flavors they know. Opening an even bigger seafood buffet over there? We'd have zero advantage!”

I raised an eyebrow：

“Who said anything about a seafood buffet?”

I turned to face them, pronouncing every word：“I'm going to open a fast-casual restaurant.”

The moment those words left my mouth, everyone went silent.

Then came a chorus of shock and disbelief：

“Boss, did you hit your head or something?”

“In the past year alone, seven or eight fast-casual joints have opened on this block. Not a single one lasted more than a month.”

“Our customers come here for seafood. Switch to fast-casual and nobody's walking through that door.”

They all talked over each other, every voice objecting.

I didn't rush, didn't get annoyed. I waited until every last one of them had finished, then spoke at an easy pace：

“You'll see soon enough.”

My mind was made up. Right then and there, I called the number on the "For Lease" sign posted on that building.

The landlord was easy to deal with. Even though the place was several times the size of my current shop, the asking price came in well below market rate.

I signed the lease on the spot and paid the rent upfront.

The landlord had barely handed over the keys when the movers showed up.

“Boss, what are we moving?”

I pointed over my shoulder at the seafood restaurant and said calmly：

“Everything in this shop. All of it goes across the street. Don't leave a thing behind.”

The movers worked fast.

Within a few hours, every table, every chair, every piece of kitchen equipment and dishware, even the framed prints on the walls, had been hauled across the street and into the three-story building.

What had been a lavishly decorated seafood buffet was now nothing but bare walls and empty concrete.

Once the move was done, I turned to face my entire staff：

“Are you willing to follow me and start fresh somewhere new?”

They all exchanged glances, and the room fell quiet.

Then Rainey stepped forward first：

“Boss, this past year working for you, we've earned way more than anyone else in this industry. You're the most decent boss I've ever had. Wherever you go, I'm going with you.”

With her leading the charge, the others spoke up one after another：

“Count me in too. I don't have much education or any special skills, but I know one thing: working for you, I feel secure.”

“Exactly. You've treated us right all year. If we turned around and walked out on you the second things got tough, what kind of people would we be?”

“Wherever you go, I go. I'm with you, through and through!”

Every single person, without exception, pledged to stay.

Watching them, warmth spread through my chest.

Right then, my phone rang. It was my dad：

“Myron, that thing I mentioned last time about switching up your menu. Have you decided yet?”

I nodded：

“All decided. I'm opening a fast-casual place.”

My dad hummed in approval“Mm”：

“Good call. More variety, more convenient.”

“Oh, and one more thing. A few of the subsidiaries under my group just brought on over eight hundred new hires last month. They'll probably be eating at your place too, so make sure you're ready for them.”

4

I allowed myself a small smile. This massive wave of new business couldn't have come at a better time.

“Good.”

“I was actually planning to expand the restaurant.”

My father paused, then added a reminder：

“The company's holiday break starts today. Everyone's back the first week after New Year's. If you're expanding, you'd better have everything ready by then.”

I agreed, hung up, and told my staff to go home and rest. They just needed to show up the first week after New Year's.

Over the next several days, I threw myself into renovating the new space.

The three-story building totaled about 8,600 square feet, more than four times the size of my old place.

I planned to turn the first floor into the main fast-casual hall with over a hundred tables, set up for quick ordering, tray service, and efficient seating.

The second floor would be a made-to-order section with individual wok dishes, perfect for small groups grabbing dinner together.

The third floor would house private dining rooms for mid-level managers who needed a place to eat and talk business.

The timeline was brutal, but the renovation crew was the same team I'd worked with before. They were fast and they were good.

I had them running day and night in two shifts. Workers rotated; the equipment never stopped.

Every day I was on-site supervising, from the overall floor plan down to where each light fixture hung. Nothing got decided without me.

While I was buried in construction, Brendan wasn't sitting idle either.

Word was he and Adela had mortgaged their house and borrowed heavily to knock through walls, renovate, and buy equipment.

They'd also signed a long-term contract with my old seafood supplier, locking in a minimum monthly order of at least twice what I used to buy. If they fell short, the penalty fees were enormous.

When Brendan saw me lease the three-story building and gear up for a fast-casual concept, he laughed right in my face：

“Myron, did you fry your last brain cell?”

“Don't you know fast-casual joints have the highest failure rate on this whole street?”

“You pulled in over two million at our old shop on pure dumb luck, and now you're mistaking that luck for talent?”

Adela looked at me the way someone looks at a lost cause：

“Exactly. Leasing a space that big for a fast-casual place? That's a death wish.”

“What, you think having a bigger storefront means you can compete with us?”

I didn't bother explaining. I just pushed the renovation faster.

Before long, the space was finished. I immediately bought brand-new stoves and kitchen equipment.

Then I hired twenty skilled chefs who knew their way around a professional kitchen.

Everything was in place. The first week after New Year's, the new restaurant officially opened.

Brendan's place opened on the same day.

Worried about losing the old customer base, he deliberately kept the original restaurant name.

But he'd also hung a massive banner across his entrance：

“Original Seafood Buffet, Now Upgraded! Better Flavors, Same Location. Come In and Try Us!”

Rainey and the rest of my crew saw it and nearly lost it：

“Boss, he's literally riding on the reputation we built to steal our customers.”

“How is that any different from robbery?”

I smiled calmly：“Relax. What's mine, he can't take.”

The words had barely left my mouth when a commotion erupted from the end of the street.

Everyone turned to look. Rounding the corner at the far end of the block, a massive crowd was pouring in.

They filled the street from sidewalk to sidewalk, so many you couldn't see where the line ended.

The sight of that tidal wave of people sent Brendan into a frenzy：

“Here they come! Here they come!”

“Every last customer from the old seafood place, they're all here!”

Adela was practically bouncing：

“I told you! People around here can't resist seafood. The second we open, every regular comes running back!”

“We're rich! We are going to be rich!”

Watching those giddy grins spread across their faces, I smiled too.

The show was about to begin.